Rep. Greg Murphy, a Republican from North Carolina, received a reaction after invoking the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, in a deleted Twitter response to Democrat Rep. Ilhan Omar’s condolences over the death of a Capitol police officer following the Friday against the US Capitol.
Omar, who is Muslim and represents Minnesota, has routinely faced Islamophobic and racist attacks since becoming one of the first two Muslim women elected to Congress in 2018. Unfounded memes and conspiracy theories have circulated widely in right-wing circles, falsely linking her to Islamic terrorist groups and suggesting that she was in some way associated with the 9/11 terrorist attacks.
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“Heartbroken to hear that another CP was killed while protecting the Capitol. My thoughts and prayers go out to the official’s family and the entire Capitol police force. The death toll would have been worse if the attacker had an AR-15 instead of a knife, “Omar tweeted on Friday after the attack.
On Saturday, Murphy replied to his post, writing: “It would have been worse @Ilhan if they were flying planes against buildings too.” Although the tweet has already been deleted, local media in North Carolina posted screenshots on Sunday.
North Carolina state senator Jeff Jackson, a Democrat, criticized Murphy’s post.
“You just invoked 9/11 to attack a Muslim member of Congress. I knew him a little when you were in the state legislature. This is way below you. No matter how strongly you disagree with her about politics, you must represent our state better than that, @RepGregMurphy, “wrote Jackson.
The Council on American-Islamic Relations also called for Murphy’s comment. “CAIR #Islamophobia Watch: #NorthCarolina Rep. #GregMurphy is facing criticism after marking Muslim congresswoman @Ilhan Omar in a now-deleted tweet invoking the 9/11 terrorist attacks,” tweeted the civil rights organization.
You just invoked 9/11 to attack a Muslim member of Congress.
I met you a little while you were in the state legislature. This is right below you.
No matter how strongly you disagree with it in politics, you must represent our state better than that, @RepGregMurphy https://t.co/k9QrVfn7Ze
– Sen. Jeff Jackson (@JeffJacksonNC) April 4, 2021
Twitter user Hassan Baami wrote: “When Islamophobia meets arrogance, we have Representative Greg Murphy !!”
“Every time the GOP hits rock bottom, they dig another hole,” wrote Twitter user Craig Harrington, sharing a screenshot of Murphy’s response to Omar.
Newsweek he contacted the press representatives of Omar and Murphy, but did not receive answers immediately.
Omar, who was born in Somalia, came to the United States as an asylum seeker in 1995. She then became a US citizen in 2000 at the age of 17. In July 2019, former President Donald Trump aimed at Omar and three other progressive colored Democratic congressmen in a racist tweet, suggesting that they should “go back” to their countries.
The three other members of Congress – MPs Ayanna Pressley from Massachusetts, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez from New York and Rashida Tlaib from Michigan – were born in the United States. The Democratic-controlled House of Representatives, accompanied by four Republicans and an independent conservative, voted to condemn Trump’s remarks as racist after this attack.
Murphy previously posted a racist tweet targeting Vice President Kamala Harris before the November election. In that post, the Republican lawmaker wrote: “@KamalaHarris is a walking disaster … she was only chosen for her color and race … is that how we choose our leaders now in America? QT @Mike_Pence.” He later deleted that post as well.